“One of the key elements to creating an effective infection prevention and control protocol is ensuring that technology acquired for in-hospital use is designed to withstand the requisite aseptic rigors of the healthcare environment.”

Dr. Elie Berbari, Chair of Infectious Diseases at the Mayo Clinic

“We swabbed the bathroom floor, the doorknobs, the countertops and the printer. One of the highest bacterial counts wasn’t in the bathroom, but on that printer. It’s an interaction point that we need to consider more carefully as we look at improving infection control efforts.”

Doe Kley, BS, RN, MPH, CIC, T-CHEST, Senior Infection Preventionist for The Clorox Company and Lecturer for The Ohio State University (OSU)

“Today, there are massive amounts of data we need to input and verify as part of our jobs. It can lead to a lot of stress and, ultimately, burnout. By making these processes more efficient, we are giving clinicians back their time – and that’s time they can then spend taking care of patients.” 

Brenda Smith BSN, MSN, Director of Surgical Services, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)

“No one thinks about touching the keyboard or when it was last cleaned. The same can be said for hand-held devices. These are all potential reservoirs for pathogens. It’s an unexplored challenge for healthcare, and one that needs to be thoroughly addressed to reduce HAIs.” 

Graham Snyder, M.D., MS, Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology, UPMC, Associate Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

“Patient identification must be the first step in any hospital procedure. If there’s an error in that first step, the downstream effects can have varying degrees of harm, from giving patients the wrong medication to putting them in a position where they receive the wrong surgical procedure.”

Rikki Jennings, RN, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at Zebra Technologies Corporation

“No one thinks they are going to make an identification error. But when you are being pulled in a million different directions – with call lights going off or patients who need immediate assistance – you may end up not following protocol. And, unfortunately, not doing so can lead to misidentification and consequent problems.” 

Sherri Hess, MS-IS, BSN, RN, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer, Banner Health

“As healthcare regulations continue to grow and evolve, it’s critical for healthcare providers to quickly and securely collect and share patient information on the go in a trackable, digital form.”

Nick Patel, M.D., Chief Digital Officer at Prisma Health and Vice Chair for Innovation for University of South Carolina Department of Medicine

“We know that people use smartphones and wearables to communicate efficiently. But as communication needs have expanded, we were bumping up against some of the same infection prevention and control policies (seen on the wards).”

Dr. Sean Spina, Coordinator of Clinical Pharmacy Services at Island Health